Science of Synthesis 4.10 Available: Updated User Interface and over 900 Pages of New Content

Stuttgart – Science of Synthesis 4.10, the latest release of Thieme’s knowledge base for synthetic methodology, features an updated user interface that makes searching and exploring the full-text resource easier than ever. With the addition of an update volume and a reference library volume, this release also includes plenty of exciting new content.

Science of Synthesis (SOS) presents the latest, most significant developments in synthetic methodology, with new peer-reviewed content added on a regular basis. This latest update to Science of Synthesis expands the knowledge base with a new Knowledge Updates volume comprising more than 500 printed pages. J.-M. Weibel, A. Blanc, and P. Pale have contributed a chapter on silver-promoted coupling reactions. Highlights also include an update by A. Ulfkjær and M. Pittelkow on 1 (organochalcogeno)alkynes that covers the synthesis and applications of sulfur-, selenium-, and tellurium-substituted alkynes, which are of importance as building blocks and intermediates in organic synthesis. In a series of update chapters by C. González-Bello, the modification of phenols as well as their synthesis by substitution, elimination, and rearrangement reactions are reviewed, thereby detailing novel approaches for installing the phenol functionality in natural and synthetic compounds. With an update on arylphosphinic acids and derivatives, D. Virieux et al. cover advances made in the synthesis of this important class of organophosphorus compound over the past decade. A Knowledge Updates chapter by A. S. K. Hashmi on the synthesis of heteroatom-substituted allenes describes methods for the synthesis of the allene functionality as well as the installation of heteroatoms onto a pre-existing allene. Finally, the latest SOS release features a new chapter by V. Hessel et al. on immobilized biocatalysts and their application in flow chemistry, a topic that has attracted intense interest in recent years. The chapter provides practitioners with the insights necessary to combine the outstanding selectivity associated with biocatalysts and the ease of separation as well as further practical advantages of using a heterogeneous catalyst in a flow reactor.

The latest addition to the SOS Reference Library, Catalytic Reduction in Organic Synthesis (Vol. 1), edited by J. G. de Vries, includes the latest developments in the field of catalytic reductions, as well as selective coverage of more well-established methods. The reference work presents both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalytic systems, and also has a strong focus on enantioselective methodology. Covering the hydrogenation of alkenes, polyenes, arenes, hetarenes, alkynes, and allenes, the volume caters to the increasingly important field of converting renewable resources into fuels and chemicals, which often relies on deoxygenation through hydrogenation or hydrogenolysis as an important first step in the conversion of biomass. Additional topics include alcohol reduction, ether hydrogenolysis, and the reduction of carbonates and carbon dioxide.

Responding to the needs and priorities of the user, the starting point in SOS 4.10 has been changed to the Query tab, with text and structure/reaction search functionalities now immediately at the user’s fingertips. To further improve navigation and content search, the Explore Contents tab now includes graphical/text abstracts for the Knowledge Updates and Reference Library content. The most striking visual change of the latest SOS release is the implementation of Thieme’s blue-blue-white corporate colors.

The updating process for Science of Synthesis is guided by strict criteria to ensure that only the best and most reliable synthetic methods are included. The Editorial Board, in conjunction with the volume editors and authors, review the whole field of synthetic organic chemistry as presented in SOS and evaluate significant developments in synthetic methodology.